What I Wouldn't Give
by Mavennica
Summary: It's Claudia's turn to save the man she loves, but will she survive it? Please R&R!:
1. Chapter 1

Claudia jumped when Artie dashed back into the office from the Warehouse floor.

"Room to work, that's what I need, room to work!" He ran to the large table in the office and cleared it with one sweep of his arm, scattering piles of papers and scrolls everywhere.

Claudia ran to him, her eyes wide with anger. "Hey, I just sorted those! Damn it Artie, that took me over two hours!" She stood there pointing at the mess he made, waiting for a response, but Artie just kept mumbling about "open," "room," and "doorway." Losing patience, she put her arm on his shoulder and made him turn to face her. Claudia froze when she saw the look on Artie's face; he was terrified.

"Artie. Artie," she said more forcefully, getting his attention away from the table after he tried turning his back to her. "What gives, dude?" She ran her hand slowly up and down his arm, trying to calm him down. "You seen a ghost or something?"

Artie turned to her, finally giving her his full attention. He grabbed her hands in his and brought them to his lips, kissing her fingers, relishing how her soft hands felt against his grizzled face. He pulled her to him and hugged her so tightly Claudia gave a little squeak.

"Ooof! Artie, if you squeeze me any harder, I'm gonna pop..."

Artie released her, holding her at arm's length to get a good look at her. Claudia realized he was studying her, drinking her with his eyes like someone would do a loved one who would never be seen again. She put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself.

"Old man, you are scaring the hell out of me. What is going on?"

Artie shook his head, a million thoughts going through it at once. "There's no time, Claudia, there's no time. Listen, I want you to go to Leena's right now and stay there." He started walking toward the exit, taking Claudia with him. "It's not safe for you here."

Claudia nearly tripped Artie when she abruptly stopped. "Sorry, Artie, no can do. Mrs. Frederic and I have a session this morning."

"That's _today?" _Artie's face went pale. "Oh no, no, you're not having a session today. I've got to get you out of here..."

Artie almost had Claudia to the door when they heard Mrs. Frederic's voice behind them.

"I can't let you do that."

Artie stopped short. He and Claudia turned around, Artie pulling her closer to him.

"Mrs. Frederic, _please_." Claudia felt a pit of fear grow in her stomach when she realized Artie was begging. "She can't be here while I try to fix this."

Mrs. Frederic shook her head slowly, giving Artie a sad look. "I'm sorry, Arthur. Once the process has started, I can't stop it."

"But you know what she'll do!" Artie said, fear making his voice raspy.

"Hello, I am right here in the room," Claudia said, her irritation at being ignored overriding her fear. "Would someone please tell me what the hell's going on?"

Artie slowly slumped into the nearest chair, his face sinking in to his hands. Mrs. Frederic walked to Claudia, putting a hand on her shoulder. Claudia briefly thought how strange it was that Mrs. Frederic's hand was so light; she had expected it to be as heavy as the burden of being the Warehouse caretaker.

"Claudia, when you were poised as a replacement caretaker for Warehouse 13 while Warehouse 2 was taking control of my mind, I was not aware of certain processes that had been set in motion." Claudia listened with rapt attention, boggled by the idea of Mrs. Frederic not being aware of something.

Mrs. Frederic continued. "Some of the defense mechanisms of Warehouse 13 partially attuned themselves to you. As long as the attunement is incomplete, the Warehouse's defenses are unstable, thus putting the Warehouse in jeopardy. I asked you to meet me here today so we can complete the process."

Claudia nodded in understanding. "Okay, that all makes sense to me. What doesn't make sense is Artie," she said, pointing a thumb in his direction, "wigging out about it. Is this attunement dangerous or something?"

Mrs. Frederic shook her head. "The attunement in itself is not dangerous; it's merely the synchronizing of energy wave patterns. What has Arthur so worried is that after you have been attuned, you will have telepathic access to some of the Warehouse's internal security features."

"And that's dangerous to me because..."

"A lost room of the Warehouse has reappeared after many years. It's a very unstable place, and Arthur is in grave danger until he can neutralize it. Since you and Arthur share such a strong emotional and physical bond, you will try to save him if anything happens. At the same time you will have access to Warehouse defense mechanisms without the training to use them properly. If you aren't careful," Mrs. Frederic finished in a soft voice, "the energy overload will kill you."

Claudia gulped, not liking the thought of being fried. "Um, you have a point there." She ran her hands through her hair, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Okay, so, energy overload bad, got it." She paused for a moment, looking over at Artie sitting dejectedly. "Mrs. Frederic, why is this room so dangerous to Artie?" she asked quietly.

Artie drew in a deep breath and sighed. "Claudia," he said, drawing her down into his lap and kissing her forehead, "the lost room contains active artifacts from Nazi Germany."


	2. Chapter 2

The three of them had left the office and walked down a flight of steps to the Warehouse floor. Artie kissed Claudia soundly, drawing a raised eyebrow from Mrs. Frederic. Claudia broke the kiss first, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug so she could whisper in his ear, "Don't worry, Artie, I'll find you."

Artie jerked Claudia back, his hands holding her arms at her side. "Claudia, don't you dare," he breathed, shaking her slightly with each word. "I will take care of this myself." He gave her one of his crooked smiles, and for the first time, her heart froze at the possibility of never seeing it again. "You just follow Mrs. Frederic, and this will all be over soon."

Claudia shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "You're a bad liar, Artie." She took a step back, cocking her hip to one side. "Hold on a second. Why can't you just wait until this attunement thing is over with and I can come with you? I can help zap the room, and you can keep me from using too much juice." She turned her head to Mrs. Frederic, hope blooming in her mind. "He can wait, right? He has time, right?"

Claudia's smile died as Mrs. Frederic shook her head. "I'm sorry Claudia, but Arthur can't wait. The door to the lost room could disappear at any moment, and the artifacts inside need to be neutralized as soon as possible." She held her hand out to Claudia. "And we have somewhere to be, you and me."

Artie placed a hand on Claudia's shoulder, turning her to face him. He placed a hand underneath her chin and raised her head until he could look her in the eyes. "It'll be alright Claudia, I promise. Hey," he said, his face brightening, "how about we have tacos tonight, hmm? My treat."

Claudia smiled through her tears and wiped her eyes on her shirt sleeve. She held out her right hand, her pinky finger extended. "You swear you'll be alright?"

Artie linked his pinky finger with hers, squeezing it tightly. "All the tacos you can eat, I promise."

She pulled him to her and kissed him, pinky fingers still entwined. "I love you Artie, but you really are a terrible liar."

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Artie ran down the aisle, panting as he made his way to the artifact he had seen earlier that morning. He stopped when he came to a large plain wall and spotted the item that had sent him running into the Warehouse office. It was a simple enough item, a sign with the words "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" crafted in plain wrought iron.

"The gate sign at Auschwitz," Artie whispered, aiming the nozzle of a neutralizer hose. "It is with no small amount of satisfaction that I get to disarm you." He pulled the trigger, and purple goo shot out, coating the sign and dripping down the wall. Sparks shot everywhere, and cracks began forming in the wall, spidering down from the sign into the shape of a gateway. The wall broke apart, swinging out wide on either side, giving Artie full access to the terrible items inside.

Artie hefted a container of neutralizing fluid, a stack of bags, and a box of purple gloves. Walking into the room, he neutralized the first few items he found, sealed them in bags, and tossed them out into the main Warehouse. Working his way down an aisle, he stopped at a bronze statue, leaning in for a closer look.

The statue wasn't a statue at all, it was a person who had been bronzed. "Unbelievable," Artie muttered, looking for any obvious clues as to the person's identity. He jerked back, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Avinu SheBaShamayim (Our Father in Heaven)," Artie breathed, a Hebrew phrase he had not used in many years. "The lost statue of Adolph Hitler."


	3. Chapter 3

Claudia followed Mrs. Frederic down a long dusty aisle, being careful not to touch anything on either side. This was a part of the Warehouse she had never been in before, and she had no intention of "discovering" anything by accident, not with Mrs. Frederic there.

"You are very wise not to touch anything," Mrs. Frederic said, smiling to herself as she startled Claudia. "Where we are headed, unpredictable things may happen."

"Mrs. Frederic?" Claudia squeaked, her voice cracking with nervousness. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Mrs. Frederic, where exactly are we headed? I thought I had been everywhere in the Warehouse, but I've never seen these aisles."

Mrs. Frederic dropped back in step with Claudia so she could more easily talk to her. "When Warehouse 2 nearly encompassed my mind and you were bound to me with the ribbon, we were accessing certain Warehouse protocols from a distance."

Claudia's face brightened with understanding. "Oh, I get it, like a remote control or something."

Mrs. Frederic nodded. "Exactly. Now, a remote control is very useful, but it has certain limitations."

"I think I see what you mean," Claudia said, her brow furrowed in thought. "A TV remote can change the channel, but only if it has a channel-changing button." She looked up at Mrs. Frederic to see if her train of thought was correct.

She was rewarded by a nod and a rare smile. "Very good, Claudia, very good. The ribbon can switch control of the Warehouse from one caretaker to another, but it has no 'button' to stabilize an incomplete attunement. For that, we must go to the heart of the Warehouse."

Claudia stopped for a moment, stunned, and then hurried to catch up with Mrs. Frederic, who had continued walking. "The Warehouse is just a building-it doesn't have a heart," Claudia said, a puzzled look on her face. "Mrs. Frederic, I don't get it."

Claudia was about to open her mouth to ask something further when Mrs. Frederic stopped abruptly, Claudia nearly walking into her. "Your body is nothing but a building made of organic components, and you have a heart," Mrs. Frederic said sternly, looking at her with a glare.

"Well, yes, but," Claudia stammered, feeling very uncomfortable being the target of Mrs. Frederic's annoyance, "I'm alive."

Mrs. Frederic stepped closer to Claudia, her glare intensifying. "What makes you think the Warehouse is any different?" Claudia began backing away, her widening in disbelief and fright as Mrs. Frederic raised her hand to hit her. "How dare you!"

A single bolt of lightning shot down from the ceiling, striking the ground just two inches in front of Mrs. Frederic. She lowered her hand, the look of rage melting from her face as she nodded. "It's as I thought," she sighed, reaching a hand out towards Claudia in a friendly gesture.

Stunned, Claudia looked at Mrs. Frederic's hand. "You were gonna hit me!"

Mrs. Frederic shook her head. "No, Claudia, I was provoking you. I wanted to see how responsive the defense systems were to you. Was there any conscious thought by you just before the lighting struck the floor?"

Visibly shaken, Claudia ran her fingers through her hair. She looked up. "Mrs. Frederic, I could have killed you."

Mrs. Frederic put her hand on Claudia's shoulder. "Claudia, there's no way you could have killed me. You're not fully attuned yet."

"I can kill people once I'm attuned?"

Mrs. Frederic sighed. "It is very rare, but it is possible. More than one agent has died at the hands of a new caretaker."

Thinking of what just happened, Claudia looked toward the scorched spot on the floor, but it was gone. She glanced around her and was stunned to see that nothing was as it was; she was in a round room with a circular pool in the floor. Surrounding the pool were the white gleaming statues of nine women dressed in robes. Claudia began to take a step forward when Mrs. Frederic put out an arm and stopped her.

"Claudia, don't move. We are in a very special place, and we must wait to be noticed."

Claudia looked at Mrs. Frederic, fear and curiosity on her face. "Where are we?" Claudia whispered.

Mrs. Frederic turned to look at the nine statues. "We are in the Shrine of the Muses."


	4. Chapter 4

Artie put his hand over his mouth, silently cursing himself for speaking Hebrew in a room full of Nazi artifacts. He clasped the container of neutralizing fluid close to him, almost as a talisman. His eyes darted left and right, scanning for any objects that might come flying at him. When nothing happened, he lowered his hand, breathed a sigh of relief at his dumb luck, and continued past the bronzed form to see what lay beyond it.

Boots. Piles of boots lay everywhere, hastily discarded in no apparent order. Piles of pants lay beyond the boots, and piles of Nazi uniform jackets lay beyond the pants. Artie carefully stepped amongst the piles, touching nothing. On a hunch, he dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small wooden tubular object, one large end tapering slightly to a smaller one. One side was smooth, and the other side was covered in gears with a small crank. Artie put the smaller end to his eye, pointed the larger end at the piled clothing, and slowly turned the handle. As Artie looked into the kaleidoscope, the image he saw changed from patterns of colorful bits to an image of the room in front of him. Colored lines crisscrossed the room, looking for all like a yarn factory had exploded. Looking closer, Artie realized that the lines had a pattern; a red line would connect two boots, travel to a pair of pants, and then to a jacket. A blue line would connect another set of clothing, a green line yet another, and so forth.

"Thank you, Sir David Brewster," Artie breathed, putting the kaleidoscope back into his jacket pocket. Shaking his head, Artie muttered, "Bifurcated uniforms. Why in the world," he said, putting on two layers of purple gloves, "would the Warehouse lose a room full of Nazi weapons, Adolf Hitler, and bifurcated uniforms?"

He assessed the situation, looking for the best way to neutralize everything as quickly and safely as possible. He didn't have an unlimited supply of purple goo, and the hose outside the room couldn't reach this far in, so soaking everything at once was out of the question. He had brought the kaleidoscope to check for bifurcated artifacts, but he hadn't counted on finding so many of them. "What am I going to do with all these uniforms?"

Artie froze when he heard a voice behind him, heavy with a German accent. "I plan on resurrecting them with the blood of a Jew."

******************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Irene..." drifted a soft a voice in the air, "you may bring her."

Claudia looked around to see who had spoken. One of the statues was moving, slowly drifting away from the pool towards them. Claudia felt goose bumps rise on her skin as the statue got closer. She shrunk behind Mrs. Frederic, fear making her whole body shake. "Why is it moving?"

Mrs. Frederic stepped slipped an arm around Claudia and brought her forward. They began walking to the circle of statues. "These really aren't statues, Claudia," Mrs. Frederic explained. "They're human, just like you and I."

When Claudia opened her mouth to ask more questions, Mrs. Frederic stopped her with a raised finger. "No time for questions, Claudia. We must do as the Muse says, and we must do it fast."

"Let her ask, Irene," the statue said, using a soft voice to override Mrs. Frederic's order. "She has a right to know." The figure reached her arms out to Claudia and gently took her hands. Claudia gasped when she felt the statue's hands-they were as hard and unyielding as stone, but they were warm to the touch. Claudia shook her head in disbelief and whispered, "What are you?"

The gleaming white statue smiled. "Long ago I was a girl, very much like you. Now I am a Muse, part of the heart of the Warehouse. I am known as Melpomone, the Muse of Tragedy." The statue leaned forward, staring at Claudia intently. "Those who have experienced tragedy must not be afraid to bond together in support of one another. Therefore, you may call me Mel." Claudia gaped as Mel shot a smirk in Mrs. Frederic's direction. "You have to become a Muse before you can call her 'Irene' though."

Mrs. Frederic raised an eyebrow, folding her arms impatiently. "We don't have time for this, Melpomone." Mrs. Frederic stepped forward and put her hand on the statue's. "The lost room has reappeared, and Arthur had to go in."

Mel stepped forward, the sudden rage on her alabaster face terrible to behold. _"You sent a Jewish man to rebronze Hitler?" _She stopped, her form shimmering slightly. In a voice low and threatening, she said, "It is dangerous to provoke Tragedy, Irene. You may not care if their love survives, but I must."

The Muse stepped forward, putting her hands on either side of Claudia's face. Mel looked deep into Claudia's eyes, and nodded. "I see determination and love within you. Tell me, Claudia, tell me what you wouldn't give to save your Artie."

Claudia gulped, tears running down her face from the thought of Artie in the hands of Nazis. She repeated Mel's question. "What I wouldn't give?" Mel nodded.

Claudia stood up straight, her love for Artie coursing through her. "Nothing. There's nothing I wouldn't give."

Tears rolled down Mel's face, falling to the floor as snow-white pearls. She sighed in resignation. "Such a tragedy." She leaned forward, kissed Claudia on the forehead, and whispered, "I am within you and without you, above you and below. I accompany your journey, wherever we shall go."

As Mel slowly vanished, Claudia's skin became whiter and whiter. Her clothing was next, the color bleaching itself to a yellow and then fading away entirely. Her hair was last, becoming white as snow. Claudia looked down at herself and gasped-she had become a Muse.

"A temporary one," Mrs. Frederic said, smiling grimly.


	5. Chapter 5

Claudia didn't notice when the round room faded and the Warehouse came back into focus; she was too busy checking out her whiteness. She was solid, just like Mel had been, but she was warm, and could move freely. On a whim, she snapped her stone fingers and a spark flew out of her hand. "Whoa, cool..."

Mrs. Frederic gave Claudia a disapproving glare and cleared her throat. "You can disengage now, Melpomone. The transportation was successful."

Claudia heard a small popping sound. Looking down, she saw that a crack had appeared in the middle of her chest. Tiny fractures appeared, spreading out from the fissure in her chest. Claudia began to breathe faster, panicking as she felt herself come undone. "Mrs. Frederic!" she whispered, "what's happening to me?"

"Claudia, I suggest you sit on the floor."

Claudia looked down. "The floor? Why?"

"Because it will prevent you from falling when the attunement begins," Mrs. Frederic answered quietly. "You have about three seconds left, so I strongly suggest you comply."

A stab of pain through Claudia's chest doubled her over, making her follow Mrs. Frederic's suggestion whether she wanted to or not. She fell to her knees, the pain going through to her back and radiating outward, filling her entire being. She looked up at Mrs. Frederic, her eyes spilling pearlescent tears. Claudia gasped as the tiny fissures widened to larger cracks with their own tiny fissures forming. She looked up at Mrs. Frederic and cried, "You said the attunement wouldn't hurt!"

Mrs. Frederic looked down into Claudia's stone eyes as the cracks consumed them. "I'm sorry, Claudia," she said, a look of haunted sympathy on her face. "I lied."

With a sickeningly deep cracking sound the fissure between her chest and back connected through, and when Claudia took a deep breath to scream out her agony, her whiteness shattered, the tinkling sound of breaking glass echoing loudly throughout the Warehouse. Claudia's scream turned into a sigh as she fainted, her normally-colored form collapsing onto the cold cement of the Warehouse floor. Mrs. Frederic carefully wove through the shards of stone floating in the air and grabbed Claudia, pulling her back out the way she came. Leaning Claudia against the end cap of an aisle, Mrs. Frederic dug into her own pocket, produced a small capsule, snapped it in half, and gently waved it under Claudia's nose.

The effect was nearly instantaneous; Claudia opened her eyes and gasped, her nostrils slightly burning from the smelling salts. She sat up, her teeth clenched in anger. "You didn't have to lie to me," Claudia spat, her eyes dark with wrath. "Did you think I would wuss out on you?" She stood up, her frame shaking with rage. "Did you think I would say no?" Claudia took a menacing step towards Mrs. Frederic, bolts of lightning falling from the Warehouse ceiling and forming a ball in her outstretched hand. _"Did you think I would leave Artie to die?"_

Mrs. Frederic turned to the cloud of tiny stone shards suspended in midair. "Now, Melpomone," she said in a calm voice, backing away as Claudia threw the lightning at her. The shards quickly moved themselves between Claudia and Mrs. Frederic, absorbing most of the energy and reflecting the rest. Claudia stumbled back, the realization of what she had just done hitting her as strongly as the concussion wave from her lightning ball. She stood there, staring at her hands, as the cloud of shards condensed themselves and reformed into the white statue Claudia had been speaking with only moments before.

Mel grabbed Claudia's hands, and Claudia pulled against her hold. "Let me go! She lied to me, Mel! God damn it, let me go!" she yelled.

Mel's grip was strong, but her voice was soft and sad. "Claudia, please stop." Mel waited until Claudia's struggling had ceased. "It wasn't her fault," Mel continued, "it was mine. I asked her to lie."

Claudia looked up at Mel, eyes wide with hurt. "Why would you do something like that?" Claudia whispered, clenching her jaw in protective anger. "I would have gone through twice that much for Artie, and more."

Mel shook her head. "If you had known the amount of suffering, you would have hesitated." Claudia opened her mouth to yell again when Mel released her right hand and placed her fingers over Claudia's lips. "It's not a judgment of how much you love Artie. When faced with that amount of pain, any human being would have hesitated, and if there was even the slightest hint of doubt, you and I would not have been able to merge, cross the barrier safely, and separate."

Mel released her grip, and Claudia mulled over what the Muse had said. She suddenly glanced up at Mrs. Frederic, a flash of realization on her face. "The attunement. It's complete, isn't it?" Claudia stared down at her hands. "Mrs. Frederic, I actively tried to kill you."

Mrs. Frederic nodded. "If not for Melpomone, you would have."

Claudia shrank back, wrapping her arms around herself. "If I had killed you, I would have destroyed the Warehouse," she whispered, "and everyone in it." She looked up at Mrs. Frederic, a tortured expression on her face. "Including Artie."

Mel put her hard warm hand on Claudia's shoulder. "But you didn't."

Claudia began to shake. "I could have killed Artie..."

Mrs. Frederic walked to Claudia, putting her hand under her chin. She lifted Claudia's face until they were eye to eye. "But you didn't. And," she continued, cutting off Claudia's protest, "Melpomone is here to help you control it."

Mrs. Frederic stepped back in order to look at Claudia and Mel. With a determined glint in her eyes, she said, "Well, now that that's settled, let's go help Arthur, shall we?"


	6. Chapter 6

Artie turned around slowly, not believing his ears. No one could spontaneously debronze, it just wasn't possible, yet standing not five feet away from him was Adolf Hitler, arguably one of the most evil men in recorded history. Artie put his hand to his mouth, fear and hatred combining to make him feel sick. Realizing that didn't have enough neutralizer to clear himself a path out, Artie carefully took a step to the right while his eyes darted everywhere, looking for the shortest way back into the Warehouse. Artie didn't know what sort of artifact debronzed people, but his bewilderment would have to wait. He knew that If he didn't get out of there right now, he would never see Claudia again.

Hitler turned, following Artie with his eyes, and when Artie was almost to the doorway, Hitler whispered, "Nein, Herr Weisfeldt." The gates that had opened to allow access to the room swung together and locked. Artie reached for his container of purple goo to splash the gates and reopen them, but he never even got the lid off. Coils of barbed wire that had once crowned concentration camp fences flew out, caught Artie around his wrists, ankles, and waist, and flung him against the far back wall. He landed with a meaty thud, the wind knocked out of him. The wire loosened for a moment, and when Artie caught his breath and struggled to get out of the wire's grip, he gasped as the barbs dug into his skin painfully, drops of blood welling up. The barbs absorbed his blood, shimmered, and the wire tightened as its strength increased ten-fold.

Artie immediately stopped struggling, his agent training kicking in as he realized what had happened. "Jewish blood," he whispered, looking up as Hitler walked towards him. "Jewish blood strengthened the artifact."

Hitler nodded as he walked from between two aisles, a large piece of rolled-up leather in his hands. "You are very close, Herr Weisfeldt," Hitler said as he set the roll of leather on a small wheeled table, "but not quite." He rolled the table over to Artie, and Artie took in a gasping breath when Hitler untied a strip of cloth and spread out the piece of leather on the table before him. "My physician, Dr. Mengele," Hitler continued, "did much research for me, and he found something quite useful." He lifted up a series of tarnished surgical tools one by one, making sure Artie got a good look. "Jews," Hitler said, spitting out the word, "possess an enzyme in their blood that, when combined with adrenaline, can enhance Nazi artifacts."

The smell of death wafted to Artie as Hitler stepped closer, running a knife down the side of Artie's face without cutting him. "Your blood is necessary, oh yes, but without the adrenaline, it's useless. Which mean," Hitler smiled, madness rippling across his face, "that you, Herr Weisfeldt, must suffer first." Hitler pushed the tip of the knife in and dragged it down the left side of Artie's face.

"Now now, you should feel grateful, Herr Weisfeldt," Hitler said as Artie clenched his jaw to not cry out in pain. "Your suffering will give rise to my new army." He used the knife to point over to the piles of boots, pants, and jackets. "Your eventual death will bring life back to my men."

Artie opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by the loud sound of breaking glass echoing throughout the Warehouse. Hitler paused a moment, looked to make sure the gate was still locked, and turned his attention back to cutting Artie.

"Hitler," Artie grunted, the name making his mouth feel unclean for having said it, "before you kill me, tell me something."

Hitler stopped, a sick smile on his face. "Since you and I are going to be here for a while, ask your question."

"How in the hell did you debronze yourself?"

Artie was startled when Hitler tilted his head back and roared with laughter. "You deluded fool! I don't debronze myself; the Regents bring this room back into phase once every ten years and send Frau Frederic in to question me."

Artie's face went slack with shock; he had had no idea. "Why?" he whispered.

"They think that if they torture me with bronzing every so often, I will eventually tell them how my Nazi artifacts work." He leaned in, and Artie winced as he was blasted with the smell of death again. "My lovely Doctor Mengele had the findings of his experiments sent to Israel, where they would again never see the light of day," Hitler bragged, "and then he disappeared, leaving me the only one with the secret."

Artie nodded. "Right, yes, the suffering, I got it."

Hitler's eyes grew wide with fury. "You think you're so smart, Jew! You know nothing! You want to know my secret? I'll tell you, since you're about to die anyway!" He leaned closer, his breath making Artie gag. "Each uniform was worn by a man who tortured and killed thousands of Jews. When I strip every ounce of suffering you have to give," Hitler panted, raising the knife menacingly, "you will bring to life the very minions of Hell."

Artie's mind raced. _Why did Mrs. Frederic send me here?_ he wondered, shaking his head as Hitler went back to mumbling over his surgical tools. _She could easily have protected herself from this monster_! Hitler looked up and grinned as a look of dawning horror spread across Artie's face, but it wasn't Hitler who had terrified Artie. _Claudia!_ Artie thought, his mind focusing on his beloved redhead. _Mrs. Frederic couldn't come this time because Claudia was attuned to the defenses!_ Hitler reached up towards Artie with a strange implement. Artie gulped and shrank back when he saw that it was a pair of dental pliers. Hitler smiled and went for Artie's mouth.

The screeching sound of ripping metal burst into the room. Hitler spun around to see a snow-white female figure tearing the locked gate from its hinges with her bare hands. Both men stared stupidly as the white figure finished removing the gate and walked into the room. Mrs. Frederic came in next, followed by Claudia

Claudia's skin crawled at the idea of being surrounded by Nazi artifacts. She slowly followed Mrs. Frederic to where Mel was standing staring daggers at Hitler. Mrs. Frederic put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Claudia, stand by Melpomone. She will need to be in physical contact with you for this."

Claudia snorted. "I'm not a little kid who needs her hand held, you know." She looked around the room once more. "Where's Artie?" Her uneasiness built into fear when no one answered her. In a clear voice, she asked, "Where. Is. Artie?"

Artie cleared his throat. "I'm over here, Claudia. I'm alright," he added hastily, seeing the look of anger on her face when she saw him held to the wall with barbed wire, bloody and scratched.

"Oh, Artie," Claudia breathed, walking to where he was held. She reached out and touched his curls, damp with sweat. "What did he do to you, old man?"

At Claudia's soft touch and even softer words, Artie broke. He leaned his head against hers and cried, quiet sobs making his chest heave and the barbs dig in deeper. "I love you so much, Claudia."

"I love you too, Artie," Claudia whispered. He looked up and stared; her tears were spilling out as water but falling from her face as pearls, and her hair had gone white. "I will make sure he can never do this to you ever again."

Mrs. Frederic's words came back to Artie with haunting clarity: ""A lost room of the Warehouse has reappeared after many years. It's a very dangerous place, and Arthur is in grave danger until he can neutralize it. Since you and Arthur share such a strong emotional and physical bond, you will try to save him if anything happens. At the same time you will have access to Warehouse defense mechanisms without the training to use them properly. If you aren't careful, the energy overload will kill you." He looked at Claudia and shook his head. "Please don't do this, kiddo, please, not for me..."

Mel cried out and doubled over like she had been punched in the stomach. She gasped and looked at her hands as they started to fade. She looked up at Mrs. Frederic and begged, "Irene, stop her..."

Mrs. Frederic shook her head, her face full of sadness. "This was the only way to destroy him, Melpomone."

As Mel disappeared and Claudia became white as stone, Mrs. Frederic heard Mel whisper, "Such a tragedy..."

Hitler had had enough. He dropped the dental pliers and made a run for it, seizing his chance to break free from the Warehouse. He only got two steps away before Claudia's stone hand clamped down on his upper arm, crushing the bones. Roaring with pain and anger, he spun around and hit Claudia in the face with his closed fist. His roar turned into a scream as his fist shattered, splattering Claudia with blood and bone shards. She tightened her grip and drug Hitler kicking and screaming back to where Artie was bound. She released a hand and put it on Artie, as gentle with him as she had been rough with Hitler.

"Claudia, _please_," Artie begged. "Don't do this."

Claudia smiled, her white face marred by blood and bone pieces. "Whatever happens, Artie, never forget that I love you." She closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

The barbed wire surrounding Artie quivered and fell to the floor. Artie was afraid he would fall, but when he stepped away from the wall, his wounds had been healed. When he looked up at Claudia in amazement, his smile died when he saw that his wounds had been transferred to her. Artie's heart broke when he saw the pain and anguish pass over Claudia's face.

Suddenly, Claudia smiled. "What I wouldn't give? Nothing, there's nothing I wouldn't give." She looked at Artie, pearls falling from her eyes. "He will never hurt you again, old man."

Claudia turned to Hitler, forcing him to look her in the eyes. He began screaming and tried to run, but his feet had turned to stone and rooted themselves in the floor. As Claudia concentrated, the stone crept up Hitler's legs to his knees and then his waist. His hands were next, then his elbows. His chest turned to stone, his screams changing to gurgles and then strangled gasping. Hitler's head turned to stone in silence. When the change was complete, Claudia pulled back and hit the statue as hard as she could, destroying the statue and shattering Hitler into millions of pieces.

Claudia stood still, staring down at the powdered mess. It was done, just like that; Hitler was destroyed, and he could never hurt Artie again. She turned to Artie to make sure he was okay, but he wasn't behind her. The room had changed again, and she was back by the circular pool at the Shrine of the Muses.

Mel was all smiles as she walked up to her. "Claudia, you did it. You saved Artie. He's safe now."

Claudia sighed in relief. "Whew! Thank God that mess is done. When can I go see him?"

Mel's smile faltered. "See him?"

"Yeah, see him! I want to give him the biggest kiss ever and then enjoy some mundane time doing inventory."

Mel shook her head. "Claudia, you overloaded your body. You died saving Artie. You're one of us now, here at the Shrine."

Claudia looked down at herself, and she was as white as Mel. Claudia started to shake. "I never wanted to be a Muse," she whispered, beginning to panic. "I just wanted to save Artie." Claudia began to cry.

A statue near the pool shimmered and began to move toward them. Mel bowed respectfully as the statue approached them. "What is wrong, dear hearts?"

Claudia turned towards the other Muse. "Please help me! I don't want to be here, I just wanted to save Artie! Send me back, please!"

The other Muse thought a moment and then turned towards Mel. "Send her back, Melpomone. It is not her time to be here."

Claudia turned to the Muse, grateful beyond belief. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank-" She froze when the Muse turned to look at her. The statue was white as snow, but the features were unmistakable. "Mrs. Frederic?"

The Muse turned to Claudia and smiled. "Time is different here. Where you are, I am still Mrs. Frederic. Here, I am Clio, Muse of History and Knowledge." She leaned closer to Claudia, giving her a conspiratorial wink. "When it's your time to be here, you can call me Irene."

********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Claudia took a sudden deep breath and sat up. For a moment she was completely disoriented until she recognized her surroundings-Artie's bedroom at the Warehouse. She stretched, loving the feel of his mattress. It was so comfortable she had often wondered if it wasn't an artifact.

She looked down at herself and saw that she was in panties and a man's undershirt; Artie's, no doubt. She pulled it to her nose and inhaled deeply, Artie's smell filling her senses.

Artie! She jumped out of bed and ran for the door, anxious to see him. She found him in the Warehouse office bent over a map, staring intently into a magnifying glass. He looked up when she came out of his room and ran over to her.

"Oh my God, Claudia," Artie gasped, hugging her as tightly as he could. He rubbed his hands on her back and down her hips, convincing himself that she was really there. He put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her, his lips gentle on hers. "Are you alright?"

"I actually feel fine. You're the one I'm worried about."

Artie scooped her up and walked them back to his bedroom. She took off her shirt and panties, kissing Artie as he stripped. He put her on her back and looked at her a moment, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Geez, do I look thrashed or something?" Claudia asked, slightly embarrassed by his intent gaze.

Artie lay down beside her, his hands gently stroking her hair. "I have never seen anyone more beautiful." His lips met hers, and she kissed him back, moaning deep in her throat when she felt his hands move over her breasts and then lower. Still kissing her, Artie dipped his fingers in, and Claudia's hips jerked when he began stroking her. He increased the speed of his fingers, lightly flicking her clit while still kissing her. Claudia grabbed his arms for stability as she came on his hand, screaming into his mouth.

Artie kissed Claudia down her chest, all over her breasts, down her stomach, and settled himself between her open legs. He gently licked her, building on the remnants of her first orgasm to make her come again.

"Artie, ohhhhhhh, Artie..." Claudia moaned, becoming incoherent as Artie used the last of her second orgasm to build her up to a third. She screamed when she came a third time, writhing on Artie's mouth.

Artie jumped up, burying himself in her before her third orgasm could completely fade. He sawed into her, thrusting at an angle that hit her in all the right places. She arched her back and screamed a tirade of nonsense as she came a fourth time. Artie let himself go, thrusting twice more before he hit his peak. He roared his release, blasting out all his pent-up worry and fear.

Artie collapsed beside her, and she realized with alarm that he was crying. She went to him, holding him close to her as he sobbed. She shushed gently, stroking his curls, and after a while he calmed down. He pulled back to look at her, his hand on the side of her face.

"Claudia," he said, his voice shaky from crying, "please don't leave me alone again."

"No way. You're stuck with me, old man." She felt him smile against her skin. "Besides, you owe me."

Artie sat up. "What are you talking about?"

Claudia shot him a wicked grin. "After a shower, it's you, me, and all the tacos I can eat."


End file.
